What usually occurs is  some early adopters take on the newest ideas while the bulk of teachers continue to do what they mostly have always done.  It took many years for simple email even to become a common daily tool for educators.

Yet, I am here to tell you I’ve seen this pattern broken; document cameras are an exception to the rule.

In a focused two-year effort, we provided every upper grade classroom at my school with a document camera, ceiling-mounted LCD projector, and a networked computer.  With the document camera leading the charge, this techno-trinity instantly transformed teaching in just about every subject area.

Every teacher has  integrated these tools into daily teaching.  I have seen a cow’s heart dissected on screen, student writing edited interactively by large and small groups, interactive read aloud made easy with text posted for all to see, highlighting to model thinking out loud, note taking modeled in content areas, whole group brainstorming, predictive thinking with graphic organizers, and real-time completion of a cloze reading passage with students working in cooperative groups.

Basically, all of this came about with the addition of three new tools and a forty minute in-service for teachers on how to use their new cameras and projectors.

Why has this happened?  Primarily, I think it’s because the combination of the document camera and projector simply represents a big improvement on what has been a mainstay in our classrooms for five decades—the stalwart overhead projector.   In that sense, these tools represent what Tom Carroll has called “transitional” technology; they afford teachers a way to do the “same thing” in a different and better way.

Money came from three basic sources: our parent teacher association, the federal EETT grant and our own school budget.  The installation took place in waves.  Finally, like the U.S. Army who introduced them to us, we’ve retired our World War II projectors.  And there are cost savings as well.  We’ve seen a reduction in the sheer number of paper copies being made and, perhaps best of all, no more calling the photocopy repair person to extract yet another mangled transparency from the bowels of the copy machine!

That perception persists in some quarters.  As our curriculum and instruction team at the Santa Clara County Office of Education has been working on professional development training, we’ve been talking about ways to intertwine technology and higher level learning.  I have to admit, some of the latest and greatest in technology has left us questioning just how much rigor is involved.

Image created by Mike Fisher; used by permission.

That got me to thinking about good old Bloom’s Taxonomy and how it might help us ensure rigor and relevance in our work in classrooms with students and by teachers.  Pursuing those thoughts led me to the discovery of this picture—a visual representation of Bloom’s Taxonomy created by Mike Fisher that collects and categorizes the various internet resources that have become second nature to many of us in the world of Web2.0.

In our department, we utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy to focus our professional development workshop outcomes and to direct the activities that teachers work on with their students. The further up the taxonomy, the stronger the learning that should be taking place.  We focus on analysis and evaluation, particularly around performance tasks, test questions, and even discussion points with classroom activities.

What is important about this diagram is the identification of internet tools that can drive both teacher and student users into higher order thinking. The categorization gives us a strong framework to plan instruction that takes advantage of new tools such as blogs, wikis, and VoiceThread that allow students to take their discussions and interactions to higher levels.

Fast forward seven years.  The magic pen was a reality and I had my first experience with one.  It was not favorable.  I was on an audit team that was piloting the use of a digital pen to upload observation data.  The pen doubled our work!  First, we took classroom observation and interview notes on regular paper; then, we had to rewrite everything on special paper provided with the digital pen.  The problem was aggravated by kinks in the software.

Given that negative experience, I was in no hurry to try out later versions of the magic pen.  My attitude changed, however, at the NECC 09 conference.  I was trying to recall something the keynote speaker had said when a friend of mine whipped out his digital pen, touched it to paper, and out came the speaker’s voice!  This magic pen had not only captured the text but also the audio of the presentation.

Now that is a computer in a pen.  I bought one and love it.  It helps me never miss a word and records everything I hear, say and write, as well as providing links between my audio recordings and my notes.  It has become a life saver in our board meetings.  It is very helpful for clarifing motions and makes taking minutes simple.  Our content specialists use it in demonstration lessons with teachers to model student interviews.

And new functions keep coming.  Recently launched apps help you with such tasks as translating phrases into other languages, checking facts on all sorts of subjects, listening to classical music, and even playing a guitar.  I look forward to continuing to learn more uses for my “magic pen!”  (Oh, in case you were wondering, mine is a “Pulse” pen by Livescribe; view it and other brands here.)

Original photocollage by Thom Dunks

Over the span of thirty years in school administration I have watched with great interest the tides of educational reform flow and then ebb.

During this first decade of the new century, we’ve heard a loud and persistent clamber for accountability from policy makers and the media alike.  Consistently, they prescribe more and more collection and analysis of linear data with the focus on mathematics and literacy skills.

Yet among the myriad of voices advocating change, there are some who share a different vision, who offer very persuasive notions about the crucial need for a new and welcome emphasis on creativity and innovation.

The research of Christopher Dede of Harvard University is receiving global attention in the quest for designing reform that will adequately prepare the next generation for the 21^st Century.  The opening sentence of his profile on the university’s web page states the following:  “Chris Dede’s fundamental interest is the expanded human capabilities for knowledge creation, sharing, and mastery that emerging technologies enable.”  To paraphrase Dr. Dede,  If we were to start new schools from the ground up, would we replicate the current model of the industrial age?

Sir Ken Robinson speaks to audiences throughout the world on the changing needs of business, education, and organizations in the new global economies.  He continues to build a foundation in the promotion of creativity and innovation in teaching and learning.  His findings and perspective on the topic have been published in his two most recent books, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (2001) and The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (2009).

The ideas and works of Daniel Pink address the needs of our future economy and society.  He sees the future belonging to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind—creative, empathic “right brain” thinkers.  In the extraordinary book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future (2005) his publisher footnotes that “Drawing upon research from around the advanced world, Daniel Pink outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are essential for professional success and personal fulfillment—and reveals how to master them.”

Author and columnist Thomas Friedman writes extensively about Education, the Economy, the Environment, and Technology in these modern times.  I found a recent editorial entitled, The New Untouchables to be a very relevant compass in this search for new directions and expanded strategies.

This period in modern American Education is at its most significant crossroad.   For the past two decades, educational leaders and futurists had predicted that the 21^st Century would mark a significant paradigm shift in the landscape of teaching and learning.  We are now 10 years into that new century, awaiting signs of tangible reform and innovation.  I would advocate that the time is now to pay close attention to those voices in the wings.  The urgency to innovate and create new models is very present.

Image by Scott Maxwell.

Do you remember your first day in the classroom?  I remembered mine as I read a recent article about a new teacher, just out of college, who was struggling with the huge task of understanding her new job.  Her experience sounded so familiar.  Walk into the school.  Get handed a key to the classroom.  Find your mailbox.  Get a stack of textbooks.   Yikes! What next?

That was the dilemma of the teacher in the article: what next? After feeling totally overwhelmed, this teacher turned to the Internet and used a social networking tool to seek help.  She posted the simple question, “I’m new, what do I do now?”  In a matter of hours she received sixty responses to this plea for help.  She even had experts come to her aid.

Talk about curriculum building!  Teachers today seem more willing to assist and collaborate with their peers than ever before.  Social networking sites seem to offer a non-threatening forum where teachers can share and exchange their ideas.

As I remember that exciting yet scary feeling as I walked into my classroom for the first time, I wonder why, if social networking tools are so easily accessible to us, we aren’t sharing more? Why do so many teachers still struggle alone with more and more paperwork? More and more papers to grade? More and more expectations?  Couldn’t social networking sites provide the avenue for educators to share how they have solved problems? Organized the mountain of assignments to grade?  Managed high expectations?  Dealt with thorny questions on curriculum?

So I now ask you:  “To share or not to share?”  What’s your experience with social networking to assist you with your work?

On one hand, we are educational institutions.  Our base purpose is to foster our students’ learning.  There is certainly educational benefit to students being able to move their files from home to school and back again.    Preventing access to external files makes learning more difficult for students and teaching more difficult for staff.

On the other hand, we have a mandate to provide a safe and secure environment for learning.  Free file exchange between home and school comes with serious risks.  Some students may bring inappropriate videos or photos.  Disgruntled students or pranksters may introduce viruses  or other malicious software.  Even the most responsible students may, by opening an innocent looking email attachment, spread malware that brings down networks and takes an already overworked technical staff weeks to locate and eradicate.

Districts have sought a secure, effortless and cost effective method to allow students to safely transfer appropriate files to and from school.  Unfortunately, most approaches are less than ideal.  Yet, without a secure technological solution, how do you balance the need for educational support and technological security?

In Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, we rely on the professional judgment of our site technology leaders.  They work with staff to analyze each situation thoughtfully and make daily decisions on student safety.  To maintain a balanced policy, site leaders work with teachers and other staff to consider factors such as:

• Is there a compelling educational need to transfer files?
• Are the students likely to use the resources well?
• Can accessing district servers from home provide the needed resource?
• Does the staff member making the request have the technical skills to assure it is used safely?
• Is the educational pay off on the proposed activity worth the risk?

Weighing the nuances of the potential rewards and mitigating the district’s exposure to risk requires information, assistance and judgment.  Such deliberation is not unique to technology; the same process applies when considering the value of other proposals such as field trips, school assembly programs, or even tuning in to the President’s speech to students!

It is incumbent on technology leaders to help all staff members understand complicated technological issues as well as to be open to the needs of staff members.   We have relied on site staff for a number of years and have not had any serious issues to this point.  We trust, communicate, and partner with all staff to keep our network safe and our students learning.

fiberOptics by Matt Tanguay-Carel. Used with permission.

Most of us are aware that work is underway at the Department of Education on a new National Educational Technology Plan, but you may not know that education figures prominently in another federal technology initiative, the National Broadband Plan being developing at the Federal Communications Commission.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act directs the FCC to develop a plan that ensures every American citizen and every American business has access to robust broadband services.  The plan must include discrete strategies for how to use broadband to advance a wide range of national purposes from consumer welfare to health care delivery; education is among these.

To help collect ideas on what should go into the education component of the broadband plan, an IdeaScale portal is in place.   Here is a selection of some of the more interesting ideas contributed so far.

• We’re asking the wrong question; it should be, “What kinds of research and development are needed to make emerging technology applications effective for learning?”
• Collaboration, Internet research, and the organization and facilitation of the learning environment are the jobs of the modern educator; all of these technologies require broadband.
• A blended model is best; use the technology and application that fits the current learning task.
• In today’s challenging economic environment, the dramatically lower cost of broadband delivery makes the case for an online learning portal especially compelling.
• Broadband can do more than just educate, it can inspire and open minds.

Have your own ideas about how broadband can make education better and/or cheaper?  Want to see what others have said and add your comments?  Like voting ideas up or down?  Visit US Educational Broadband Planning.

The California Technology Innovation Challenge Grant began with the goal of extending learning beyond the classroom for students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. Previously “low tech” in delivery, this project has evolved into online delivery methods such as the recently launched U.S.A. Learns—an Internet-based instructional software program. A joint venture of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL), core funding for U.S.A. Learns was provided by ED. Additional funding for U.S.A. Learns was made available by the California Department of Education, Office of Adult Education. U.S.A. Learns has helped adult educators to facilitate a centrally manageable, entirely online, truly innovative distance learning program for English learners.

The California Distance Learning Project continues to support expanding options for Career Technical Education Citizenship, GED Test Preparation, High School Diploma subjects, Older Adult, and Parent Education programs. Visit your local adult school today to learn more about distance learning programs in addition to a full array of traditional face to face and blended, i.e. combination of distance learning and traditional class meetings. Your local adult school is your community resource for full technology integration into all curricular areas. A list is available on the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network for Adult Educators (OTAN) website. Access to OTAN is free of charge with registration.

Which one hides the Kindle?

When Amazon released its second generation Kindle in February 2009, there was speculation that the enhancements in this new device would make it a natural for storing and accessing textbooks. But the limited number of textbooks and other instructional materials available in Kindle format made this seem like a pipe dream. Now, as the true impact of the recent fiscal crisis continues to make itself felt nationwide, there appears to be increased serious interest in schools making a switch to electronic textbooks or ebooks to save money.

Just this month, ABC News and several other news organizations reported on a document released on July 14 by the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Titled “A Kindle in Every Backpack,” this report suggests that the government could purchase a Kindle or other ebook reading device for every student in the U.S. so that textbooks could be distributed and updated electronically and to enable teachers to customize instructions for students. The proposal still needs a lot of work, and the initial cost would be high ($9 billion the first four years), but members of the DLC predict that schools would save hundreds of millions of dollars in subsequent years.

Amazon is not the only business looking at this market. There are a number of ebook reading devices currently available as shown in this table. And there are websites like Shortcovers that allow users to purchase and download ebooks onto a variety of devices ranging from ebook readers to laptops, MP3 players and smartphones. In other words, it might be possible for students to shift to use of some electronic texts right away by using devices they already own!

With states scrambling to cover huge deficits, it may be time to serious consider ways this technology could be used to reduce costs and make sure students have access to up-to-date instructional materials in a variety of formats. What are the questions you would ask?

Building 21st century schools takes leaders who know how to initiate and sustain change.   No easy task!

Initiating and sustaining change is the final topic we address in the School Leader Development workshop.  After reviewing some key resources on change management, the participants work in small groups to identify what they believe are the Big Ideas when it comes to leading a change process.   They write each Big Idea on a slip of paper.  I collect the slips, and then the fun begins.  It’s time for charades!

Eyes roll.  Grumbling erupts.  Passionate protestations ensue.  But I am unrelenting.   We will do this.  We review the basic rules of charades, including the common gestures used in the game.  Then each person, in turn, pulls a slip from the box and acts out a Big Leadership Idea until the rest of us figure it out.

There are two reasons I use this particular activity.  First, it tends to put the participants out of their comfort zones, which is exactly what they’ll be asking of their staffs.  And second, we have a lot of fun; see for yourself!

Below is the list of Big Ideas generated by the superintendents, principals, and other school leaders who attended our most recent workshop.  Click here to see a wordle created from this list.

Monitor, Assess And Adjust
Create Strategic Plan
Cast A Vision
Communication, Voice
Commitment To Change
Sustain Change
Share Vision
Collaboration, Deep Discussion, Task Cycle
Sustain Change, Inquiry Cycle, Internalize
Shared Vision
Relationships
Commitment
Model Process, Acquire Skills Yourself
Discussion And Input
Broad-Based Buy-In
Develop Expert Teams
Group Buy-In
Identify Needs
Teacher Buy-In